Vaporizer for explosive-engines.



PATENTBD APR. l2, 1904.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20v 1902.`

No. 756,834. V

Nov MonEL.

HIIIIIIHIF Patented April 12, 1904.

UNrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE..

JULIAN F. DENISON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

VAPORIZER FOR EXPLOSlVE-ENGINES.

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 756,834, dated April12, 1904.

Application filed March 20, 1902. Serial No. 99,058. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom, it 7211/117/ concern:

Be it known that I, JULIAN F. DENIsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Haven, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vaporizers for ExplosiveEngines, of which the following is a specification.

In operating explosive-engines with liquid hydrocarbon it is well knownto persons fa miliar with such engines that the highest efciency andeconomy cannot be obtained if the gas supplied to the explosion-chamberhas mixed with it any unvaporized liquid. This is true even if theliquid be in very minute particles, and considerable diculty has attimes been experienced in avoiding this latter con' dition. Therefore Ihave invented a method and apparatus by which this difficulty may beeasily overcome, so that the gas used in the charge is thoroughly dryand free from unvaporized particles.

My present invention, which consists in a method of providing fuel foruse in explosiveengines, will be more clearly understood when describedin connection with the apparatus shown in the accompanying` drawings,wherein4 Figure 1 is a side view of my engine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalcentral section in a plane parallel to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is alongitudinal central section in a plane perpendicular to that of Fig. 1,showing the upper parts; and Fig. 4 is a top view with parts broken awayto show details of the ignition mechanism.

The cylinder, cooled by water circulated through its walls, isdesignated by 1.

2 is the compressiop-chamber, in which air drawn in through the opening3 is compressed by the forward stroke of the piston 4. The air is forcedinto the explosion chamber through the passage 5 and striking the plateor projection 6 is diffused, driving out before it the burned gases ofthe exhaust through the passage 7.

The retort 8 is for the purpose of gasifying the liquid hydrocarbon andin the present instance is shown located on the cylinder-head. It may beof any desired form, shape, or configuration and made in any convenientway,

as by casting. It may also be located elsewhere than on thecylinder-head, depending somewhat on the structure of the engine inwhich my method is to be employed. A convenient means for supplyingliquid to the retort is a pump 9. Fig. 1, the plunger of which isactuated by the rod 10, reeiprocated by the eccentric mechanism 1l.Liquid is drawn from a reservoir, as 12, through the pipe 13 and forcedinto the retort through the pipe 14. If at any time the pressure in theretort rises above a predetermined point, the liquid will be driven backthrough 14 past a relief-valve 15 into the supply-pipe 13. Thisrelief-valve is of course of any convenient or well-known form. Gas fromthe retort is supplied to the explosion-chamber 22 through the channel23, which may be closed by the valve 24. The channel 23 is alsocontrolled by a valve 25, normally held against its seat by a spring 26.Over the valve 25 is an arm 27 of the reciprocating rod 10, having thescrew 28. so that when at the proper time the rod 10 is drawn down bythe eccentric mechanism the screw Q8, striking the valve 25, will openthe same and allow gas from the retort to enter the eX- plosion-chamber.

On the lower end of rod 1() is a plunger 16, working in a pump 17, bywhich water is drawn from a suitable source connected to a pipe 18. Thewater thus supplied is conducted to the cylinder by a pipe 19 and thencethrough the passages 20 and 21, Figs. 2, 3,

and 4, to act as a cooling agent in the ordinary manner.

The charge .1n the explosion-chamber 22 1s ignited by a suitable sparkmechanism-,such

as shown, for example, in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. An electrode 29, insulatedfrom the rest of the engine, is connected to one pole of a source ofelectricity and another electrode 30, which may or may not be insulated,to the other pole. The second electrode 30 is journaled in the wall ofthe explosion-chamber and has on its outer end a rocking lever 31, heldraised by a spring 32, so that the electrode 30 may hear against theelectrode 29, as shown. On the rod 10, arranged to slide freely thereon,is a hammer 33, held against the lever 31 by a spring 34, so that theelectrode 30 is held out of contact with the other. Fixed to the rod lObelow the hammer 33 is a pivoted trigger 35 of the form shown, heldraised by a spring 36. When the rod 10 is raised, the upper part of thetrigger engages the hammer and lifts it. As the rod continues its upwardmovement the electrode 30 approaches the other until a spark is producedby their contact, after which thetrigger is tripped by the screw 37,releasing the hammer, which strikes the lever 3l a smart blow suiiicientto separate the electrodes, as before.

Leading out of the retort isa pipe 38, controlled by a valve 39. In partof its length the pipe is coiled, as at 40, in a chamber 42, throughwhich the exhaust escapes from explosion-chamber. Beyond the coil thepipe 38 is connected to a storage-tank 41, the purpose of which will beexplained hereinafter.

From the foregoing description the operation of the engine will bereadily understood. One of the caps 43 having been removed, the retortis heated in some convenient way, as by a paint-breamer. WV hen theretort is suflciently hot, the valve 24 is closed and the pump 9 workeda few strokes by turning the flywheel. Oil is thereby supplied to theretort, and when sufficient gas has been generated, determined by thegage, the cap is replaced and the valve 24 again opened. The engine isnow ready to start in the ordinary manner by turning the fly-wheel. Theretort 8 being surrounded by the explosive mixture will be highly heatedby the explosions. It is of suflicient capacity to contain at moderatepressure a considerable quantity of gas-that is, enough for a number ofexplosions-so that it is not emptied every time the valve 25 is openedto supply fuel for the charge. The hydrocarbon is thus subjected to ahigh temperature for a much longer time than in the usualmethod ofoperation, with the result that the vapori- Zation of the liquid is morecomplete. By increasing the supply of vapor maintained in the retort itwill of course be heated still longer before withdrawn for the charge.This increase of the supply may be effected by adjusting therelief-valve 15 so that a higher pressure may be maintained and thenincreasing for a short time the supply of liquid hydrocarbon. In thisway the gasifying may be carried so far that part or all of the vapor bythe time it is admitted to the cylinder will have been transformed intoa fixed dry gas which at ordinary temperatures will not all condense. Byvaporizing the hydrocarbon in quantities in excess of that required fora single explosion I am able conveniently to store a part of the gas tobe used thereafter in starting the engine. Thus by opening the valve 39the tank 41 will be filled, the gas in its passage thereto through thecoil 40 being still further heated by the exhaust. To start the engineby means of the stored supply, it is necessary to open the valve 39. Thegas will thus be conducted to the retort and thence to theexplosion-chamber. When the retort is filled, the supply from the tank4l should be cut off.

It will be seen from the foregoing that by my method the fuel for thecharge is supplied to the cylinder from a chamber of considerablecapacity and in the form of a vapor entirely free from liquid, even inthe minutest particles. This I regard as one of the most importantadvantages of my invention.

It is obvious, of course, that the engine shown and described is notthe-only one in which my invention may be embodied, and I therefore donot consider myself in any way limited thereto; but

What I claim is- In a hydrocarbon explosion-engine, the combination ofan explosion-chamber, a piston working therein, a retort at one end ofthe explosion-chamber directly exposed to the products of theexplosions, vmeans for maintaining in the retort a supply of vaporizedhydrocarbon considerably in excess of the amount required for a singlecharge, means for delivering to the explosion-chamber fuel forv thecharge from the maintained supply, a storagereservoir having a valvedconnection with the retort, and an exhaust-pipe extending from theexplosion-chamber and inclosing a portion of the storage-reservoirconnection, whereby the hydrocarbon vapor passing to the reservoir willbe subjected to the heat of the exhaust, as set forth.

JULIAN F. DENISON.

Witnesses:

Rosi?J L. BROWN, JOHN ELLIOTT.

